100 years ago

Messrs John Gray and Sons, piano and organ makers, Coney Street, were exhibiting in one of their shop windows an interesting memento of the bombardment of Scarborough in a badly damaged piano which had been sent to them for repairs.

The instrument was the property of Mr CH Wrightson, house and estate agent, whose residence in Seamer Road, which was situated near the wireless station, had almost been demolished.

The room in which the piano was kept and the room above it on the next storey had each been struck, with disastrous results, and the piano had only recently been recovered from the debris.

Mr Ronald Gray stated that the piano had been struck in 16 places by splinters of shell, but it was thought possible to repair it.

The damage to Mr Wrightson's house was estimated at about £250. Messrs Gray and Sons were well known in the county, the firm having been established well over half a century.


50 years ago

It had been a long time coming – but at last, the chance to see what all the fuss was about had arrived. Cleopatra would be showing at the Odeon the following week.

Described variously as “The Entertainment of a lifetime” and “The most catastrophic shambles in screen history,” Cleopatra had been completed, at a cost of something like 50m dollars, in 1963.

Since then the picture had been shown only at selected “hard ticket” theatres. Now Cleopatra was on the threshold of full general release.

The expectation was that the public would rush along in their thousands. So far as 20th Century Fox were concerned, it was more than an expectation - it was a prayer.

The company had staked its whole future on the success of this epic to end all epics.

Many experts estimated that, by the time the film was completed, the company was on the verge of bankruptcy.


25 years ago

York library's open day the following month would be batty – and it was not only because of the story-time for adults session.

A live bat would be in attendance for the day accompanied by its owner who would be giving a talk to visitors.

The assistant county librarian, Mr Gordon Hand, said with novelties like stories being read to adult visitors as well as children, it was hoped attendances for the day would double. The open day was intended to introduce people to the library's wide range of services.

“It does have a serious purpose. We will be demonstrating our business information service which offers small businesses company searches and information on what is written in the library about a topic.”